System and method for time-power frequency hopping for D2D discovery

ABSTRACT

Embodiments are provided to implement a time/power/frequency hopping scheme for device-to-device (D2D) discovery. The embodiments improve the UE detection of D2D discovery signals from neighboring UEs and account for large number of UEs&#39; discovery signals. This is achieved by having neighboring UEs transmitting at different time instances and at different power levels. Further, neighboring UEs can be configured to transmit on different frequencies. This is achieved by assigning different time/power/frequency sequences to different UEs. An embodiment method includes transmitting, to a UE, parameters a hopping pattern of a first sequence of resources for transmitting a discovery signal by the UE and of a second sequence of resources for receiving a second discovery signal by the UE. The first sequence of resources comprises at least one of a sequence of time instances and a sequence of power levels. The second sequence of resources comprises time instances.

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.61/798,381 filed on Mar. 15, 2013 by Philippe Sartori et al. andentitled “Time-Power-Frequency Hopping for D2D Discovery,” and U.S.Provisional Application No. 61/822,129 filed on May 10, 2013 by HosseinBagheri et al. and entitled “System and Method for Time-Power-FrequencyHopping for D2D Discovery,” which are hereby incorporated herein byreference as if reproduced in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to the field of wireless networkcommunications, and, in particular embodiments, to a system and methodfor time-power-frequency hopping for device-to-device (D2D) discovery.

BACKGROUND

Device-to-Device (D2D) technology is getting attraction because of theability to offer new services, improve system throughput, and offer abetter user experience. One aspect of D2D technology that appearspromising is D2D proximity discovery. With D2D proximity discovery, userequipments (UEs) attempt to discover neighboring UEs or other entities.This information can be used for better social networking (e.g., inSocial, Local, Mobile environment, also referred to as SOLOMO),personalized advertising, and other applications. However, in order forD2D discovery to be successful and applicable to various deploymentscenarios, there is a need to ensure that D2D discovery works in anetwork with a large number of UEs, with possibly different power levelsand distances.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with an embodiment, a method implemented by a method by anetwork component for assigning resources for a device-to-device (D2D)discovery signal includes transmitting, to a user equipment (UE),parameters indicating a set of discovery resources. The set of discoveryresources comprises a first sequence of resources and a second sequenceof resources. The method further includes transmitting, to the UE,second parameters indicating a hopping pattern of the first sequence ofresources for transmitting a discovery signal by the UE and of thesecond sequence of resources for receiving a second discovery signal bythe UE. The first sequence of resources comprises at least one of asequence of time instances and a sequence of power levels. The secondsequence of resources comprises time instances.

In accordance with another embodiment, a method implemented by a networkcomponent configured for assigning resources for a D2D discovery signalcomprises at least one processor and a transitory computer readablestorage medium storing programming for execution by the at least oneprocessor. The programming includes instructions to transmit, to a UE,parameters indicating a set of discovery resources. The set of discoveryresources comprises a first sequence of resources and a second sequenceof resources. The programming includes further instructions to transmit,to the UE, second parameters indicating a hopping pattern of the firstsequence of resources for transmitting a discovery signal by the UE andof the second sequence of resources for receiving a second discoverysignal by the UE. The first sequence of resources comprises at least oneof a sequence of time instances and a sequence of power levels. Thesecond sequence of resources comprises time instances.

In accordance with another embodiment, a method by a UE for supportinghopping for D2D discovery includes receiving, from a network, parametersindicating a set of discovery resources. The set of discovery resourcescomprises a first sequence of resources and a second sequence ofresources. The method further includes receiving, from the network,second parameters indicating a hopping pattern of the first sequence ofresources for transmitting a discovery signal by the UE and of thesecond sequence of resources for receiving a second discovery signal bythe UE. The first sequence of resources comprises at least one of asequence of time instances and a sequence of power levels. The secondsequence of resources comprises time instances.

In accordance with yet another embodiment, a user device configured forsupporting time, power, and frequency hopping for D2D discoverycomprises at least one processor and a computer readable storage mediumstoring programming for execution by the at least one processor. Theprogramming includes instructions to receive, from a network, parametersindicating a set of discovery resources. The set of discovery resourcescomprises a first sequence of resources and a second sequence ofresources. The programming includes further instructions to receive,from the network, second parameters indicating a hopping pattern of thefirst sequence of resources for transmitting a discovery signal by theUE and of the second sequence of resources for receiving a seconddiscovery signal by the UE. The first sequence of resources comprises atleast one of a sequence of time instances and a sequence of powerlevels. The second sequence of resources comprises time instances.

The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features of an embodimentof the present invention in order that the detailed description of theinvention that follows may be better understood. Additional features andadvantages of embodiments of the invention will be describedhereinafter, which form the subject of the claims of the invention. Itshould be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conceptionand specific embodiments disclosed may be readily utilized as a basisfor modifying or designing other structures or processes for carryingout the same purposes of the present invention. It should also berealized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructionsdo not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth inthe appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present invention, and theadvantages thereof, reference is now made to the following descriptionstaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a device-to-device (D2D) discovery scenario betweenUEs;

FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment method of time/power/frequency hoppingfor D2D discovery;

FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment method of UE operation for discoverymode;

FIG. 4 illustrates possible formats of transmitted discovery signals;and

FIG. 5 is a diagram of a processing system that can be used to implementvarious embodiments.

Corresponding numerals and symbols in the different figures generallyrefer to corresponding parts unless otherwise indicated. The figures aredrawn to clearly illustrate the relevant aspects of the embodiments andare not necessarily drawn to scale.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

The making and using of the presently preferred embodiments arediscussed in detail below. It should be appreciated, however, that thepresent invention provides many applicable inventive concepts that canbe embodied in a wide variety of specific contexts. The specificembodiments discussed are merely illustrative of specific ways to makeand use the invention, and do not limit the scope of the invention.

One of the used D2D techniques is discovery. The discovery techniqueincludes the ability to discover neighboring user equipments (UEs).There are two types of discovery schemes that can be used: restricted(also called closed) discovery and open discovery. In open discovery,the UE attempts to discover other UEs or services, with only minimumguidance from the network or base station (e.g., eNB, communicationscontroller). In the case of restricted discovery, the discovery isnetwork or eNB assisted, with for example the eNB (or base station)directing one of the UEs to send a probing signal so that UE can bediscovered. One of the problems associated with open discovery is thatthe number of UEs to be discovered can be large. Furthermore, in orderto be effective, the discovery range has to be relatively large, e.g.,on the order of several hundred meters. This means that the UE has to beable to receive a large number of signals, with potentially differentpower levels. This can create problems at the receiver, such asde-sensing the receiver or losing the capability to detect some signalsdue to the limited Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) dynamic range inthe receiver.

Embodiments are provided herein to implement a time/power/frequencyhopping scheme for D2D discovery. The embodiments improve the detection,by a UE, of D2D discovery signals from neighboring UEs and account forlarge number of UEs' discovery signals at a large discovery range. Thisis achieved by having neighboring UEs transmitting at different timeinstances and at different power levels. Further, neighboring UEs can beconfigured to transmit on different frequencies. This is achieved byassigning different time/power/frequency sequences to different UEs. Anassigned sequence comprising non-contiguous allocations of a resource,e.g. time, power, or frequency resource, is also referred to herein astime, power, or frequency hopping. In an embodiment, parameters aresent, e.g., from a communication controller, to the UE. The parametersare then used by the UE to generate the sequences. The varying or hoppedresource allocation (time/power/frequency hopping) in each sequence aimsto increase the possibility of non-overlapping time/power/frequencyresources among different UEs.

FIG. 1 shows a D2D discovery scenario 100 between UEs. A first UE (UE A)attempts to detect both a second UE (UE B) and a third UE (UE C), whicheach transmits a D2D discovery signal or frame. UE B is relatively closeto UE A, and UE C is at a relatively large distance from UE A. As such,if UE B and UE C transmit their D2D discovery signals on the sameresources and at the same power, then the signal from UE B may bereceived at UE A at a much stronger power level than the signal from UEC. This can cause two problems for the receiver of UE A, overloading anda masking effect. In overloading, the signal received from UE Bsaturates the radio frequency (RF) front end of the receiver of UE A,and thus the receiver is not able to detect any other signal (e.g., fromUE C). In the masking effect, if UE B and UE C transmit at samefrequencies and if the received signal powers from UE B and UE C aresignificantly different, then the ADC resolution at UE A may not beenough, and hence UE A may not be able to accurately detect the signalfrom UE C.

To resolve the issues above in scenario 100, the embodiments hereinprovide three different hopping mechanisms, time hopping, frequencyhopping, and power hopping. Time hopping can be used to avoid having atransmitting UE (e.g., UE B) always overloads another receiving UE(e.g., UE A) or masks another transmitting UE (e.g., UE C). For instancetime hopping can ensure that UE B would not always overload UE A or maskUE C. Power hopping can be used to ensure that a UE (e.g., UE B) doesnot necessarily flood a close-by UE's receiver (e.g., receiver at UE A)or mask another UE (e.g., UE C) by having it transmitting at a lowerpower. Frequency hopping can also be used to provide some frequencydiversity in order to improve detection probability. These three hoppingmechanisms should be uncorrelated to provide the aforementioned desiredeffects. The three hopping mechanisms can be used individually or in anycombinations. However, using all three simultaneously may furtherimprove system performance. The three hopping schemes are described inmore detail below.

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment method 200 of time/power/frequency hoppingfor D2D discovery. The method 200 is implemented by a network component,such as a base station (e.g., eNB) that manages the UEs' communicationswith the network. At step 210, the eNB, or any other type of suitablenetwork access point or base station, instructs a UE to go into D2Ddiscovery mode. The network can enable the D2D discovery functionalityat a UE with discovery capability, for instance upon an application atthe UE requesting discovery. This means that the UE transmits a signalthat enables other UEs to detect it. This instruction may happen forvarious reasons, such as due to a request by the UE, or the eNBdirecting the UE to initiate Direct Mobile Communication (DMC). Theinstruction can be either explicit or implicit. For instance, animplicit instruction can be made by sending parameters of apseudo-random hopping sequence to the UE. At step 220, the eNB assigns ahopping pattern for the UE. The hopping pattern comprises a time-hoppingsequence, a frequency-hopping sequence, and/or a power-hopping sequence.The three sequences may be separate sequences or function or may bebundled as a single, three-dimensional hopping pattern. As an example,the bundled hopping sequence can be represented as Z(t)=T(t)×F(t)×P(t),where “T”, “F”, and “P” represent time, frequency, and power levelindices for discovery cycle “t”. The discovery cycle is furtherdescribed below. The hopping pattern or the individual hopping sequencesassigned to a UE are intended to be non-overlapping or partiallynon-overlapping with other hopping patterns or sequences assigned toother UEs. However, the eNB may not specify all three hoppingcomponents. For instance, the power hopping sequence may not be neededor specified. It may be up to the UE to randomly or pseudo-randomlychoose which power level to use, e.g. using a pseudo-random functiongenerator. The signaling of hopping sequences to the UE may be explicitor implicit. The eNB may transmit the hopping sequences explicitly viasignaling, such as using Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling. Inimplicit signaling, the hopping sequences may be determined by the UEaccording to a UE identifier such as UE ID or D2D ID, a predefinedfunction, and parameters provided by the eNB or the network, asdescribed below. Using RRC signaling may be preferred since it reducesthe probability of collisions, e.g., due to some overlapping sequencesbetween different UEs. However, the UE is required to go into connectedmode to receive the RRC signaling, and potentially the UE identifier (UEID or D2D ID). Once this procedure is terminated, the UE may startoperating in D2D discovery mode.

Time hopping can be used to avoid or reduce collision of discoverysignal transmission of two specific UEs all the time. For instance, ifUEs are allowed to transmit discovery signals in “n” (1≦n≦N) discoverysubframes/time instances out of “N” available discovery subframes/timeinstances, time hopping may reduce the probability of two UEs collidingin all of their “n” discovery transmissions (n and N are integers andn≦N). This type of hopping is beneficial in reducing themasking/overloading probability of a UE by another UE. If a UE does nottransmit in a discovery time instance, it can receive discovery signalsof other UEs in that time instance.

The problem of overloading is not necessarily due to using the samefrequency resource for two UEs (e.g., UE B and UE C), while maskingoccurs when UE B and UE C use the same combined time and frequency(time-frequency) resource. Therefore, in the hopping design, it isdesired that the time-frequency resource for a UE is also hopped fromsubframe to subframe.

A UE transmits its discovery signal in discovery subframe number h(●)where “h” determines the “n” discovery subframe indices out of Navailable discovery subframes. The input arguments of “h” may includethe UE's identifier such as D2D ID and parameters signaled by thenetwork. For example, the network may determine an input argument of “h”based on the UE's Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) reports.

As an example design, assuming N discovery subframes (time instances)within a discovery cycle, h can take values 0, . . . , N. The UE doesnot transmit its discovery signal in the cycle when its h=0. So, h canbe written as h(i,t)=ƒ(i,t)×g(i,t). The parameter “i” represents aparameter that can be chosen randomly or can be tied to a UE identifier(such as D2D ID, etc.), or can be configured by the network, or acombination of the mentioned approaches. The parameter “t” is thediscovery cycle index. Function “ƒ” determines the subframe numberinside the discovery cycle index “t”, and it takes values 1, . . . , N.Function “g” may be set to “0” or “1”, which determines whether the UEis allowed to transmit the discovery signal in discovery cycle “t” ornot, respectively.

An example design for “ƒ” can be ƒ(i,t)=mod(i×(t+n_(c))^(m)+n_(r),p),where parameters m and p, where 0≦m and 0≦p≦N, are determined by thenetwork, and 0≦n_(c), n_(r)≦p−1 can be selected using a similar approachas selecting “i”. One example of such a design could be m=2, p=Prime(N),where Prime(N) gives the closest prime number equal or smaller than N.An example design for “g” can be a pseudo random generator generatingrandom permutation of integers 1 to N, and selecting the first “n” ofthem (“n” signaled by the network). The output of function “g” for theselected “n” discovery subframes may be “1”, and for other discoverysubframes may be “0”. The seed to the pseudo random generator can be afunction of “i” (e.g., “i” itself). Another example of “g” could be arandom number generator whose output is between 0 and 1. The network canassign a threshold such that a value above the threshold impliestransmission while a value below the threshold implies no transmission.

Each discovery cycle is composed of a group of subframes (notnecessarily contiguous) allocated to discovery, and discovery cycles mayhappen infrequently. For instance, each discovery cycle might becomposed of 20 discovery subframes and there might be a discovery cycleevery second. In another embodiment, a time hopping scheme allows UEs totransmit multiple times within a discovery cycle according to aprobability rule.

An example probability rule can be each UE transmits a discovery signalin each discovery cycle in two discovery subframes/instances withprobability “p₂”, in one discovery subframe/instance with probability“p₁”, and in zero discovery subframe/instance with probability “p₀”,where “p₂+p₁+p₀=1”. In an example, p₂=p₀=0.05. This is a sample designand it might be possible to allow a UE to have up to “K” discoverytransmissions in a discovery cycle, Σ_(k=0) ^(K) p_(k)=1. Theprobability rule can be different from a discovery cycle to another. Forinstance, at first “C” discovery cycles, parameters can take thefollowing values p₁=1, p₂=p₀=0, and afterwards the values p₁=0.5,p₂=P₀=0.25 are used. The parameter “C” (number of first discoverycycles) and the probability rules can be signaled to UEs, e.g., by abroadcast message from the network.

A similar method may be used to assign resources for the UE to receive adiscovery signal form another UE. The method includes sending the UEparameters indicating (e.g., used by the UE to generate) a hoppingpattern of resources (e.g., time, power, and/or frequency resources) forreceiving the discovery signal from other UEs.

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment method 300 of UE operation for discoverymode. At step 310, the UE assesses if the current subframe is a subframewhere the discovery procedure is to take place. If this is not true “N”,then no discovery attempt is made, and the UE processes the subframe asusual. If the condition in step 310 is true “Y”, then at step 320, theUE uses the time hopping sequence to determine if it has to transmit itsdiscovery sequence. If this is not true “N”, then at step 325, the UE,if configured, listens and attempts to discover other UEs. If thecondition in step 320 is true “Y”, then at step 330, the UE uses thefrequency hopping sequence to determine which resource block(s) (RB(s))to use. At step 340, the UE uses the power hopping sequence to determinewhich power level to use. Alternatively, the UE may pseudo randomlychoose one power level on its own. The power levels may include zeropower indicating no transmission. The parameter(s) of such apseudo-random generator, including set of power levels and power levelselection probability, can be signaled by the network, and can bedifferent from a discovery cycle to another. As an example, theprobability of selecting a power level for UEs in an area (e.g., a cell)can be based on the density of the UEs in that area. At step 350, the UEtransmits the discovery signal at the frequency location with the chosentransmit power. One mode of frequency hopping may be to define a blockof “m” resources, which may be contiguous or non-contiguous. The UErandomly chooses “n” resources out of the block to transmit.

FIG. 4 shows embodiments of possible formats 400 for transmitteddiscovery signals. A time-frequency format of discovery transmissionscan be signaled to UEs by the network. For example, the time-frequencyformat can be 12 subcarriers×12 Orthogonal Frequency DivisionMultiplexing (OFDM) symbols. Typically, there are 14 OFDM symbols in a 1ms subframe. With 12 symbols in this format, the first and last OFDMsymbols of a 1 ms subframe can be reserved as a guard time betweentransmit and receive mode for the UE. In an implementation, RRCsignaling can be used to signal the time-frequency format for connected(active) UEs, while System Information Block (SIB) or broadcast/pagingmay be used for idle UEs. A time-frequency format can be selected from aplurality of predefined time-frequency formats. The time-frequencyformat can be different depending on the subframe number within a radioframe. For instance, in case of TDD systems, the time-frequency formatsof the discovery resources happening in an UL subframe and in a specialsubframe can be different.

In case A, the discovery signal format occupies a full physical resourceblock (PRB) pair. For example, the full PRB pair includes 12subcarriers×12 OFDM symbols, which can be used to optimize discoveryrange when the density of devices is relatively low. In another example,when the density of devices is relatively high, 72 subcarriers×2 OFDMsymbols can be used to minimize near-UE-far-UE blocking at the receiver.Other possible configurations may be 48 subcarrier×3 OFDM symbols, 36subcarriers×4 OFDM symbols, or 144 subcarriers×1 OFDM symbols. Thenetwork or eNB can select the width both in time and frequency for thediscovery signal according to various parameters, such as density of UEsand range for discovery. In case B, the discovery signal format occupiestwo slots in different resource blocks (RBs), where each slot compriseshalf of the OFDM symbols available in an RB. This allows more frequencydiversity for each UE. In case C, a discovery signal occupies multiplecontiguous RBs or multiple contiguous portions of RBs. A guard time isalso inserted between different discovery signals.

In yet another configuration (not shown), the resources (RBs or portionsof RBs) for each discovery signal are not necessarily contiguous. Inanother example, a discovery signal for a UE occupies one of the OFDMsymbols. In this case, the guard time for the UE is aligned with thesymbols next to the discovery signal. During the guard time, the UE doesnot listen, but other UEs may still transmit. In yet anotherconfiguration, a discovery signal may be sent over multiple contiguousor non-contiguous subframes, e.g., to provide even more flexibility inthe time/frequency location and width and/or to have a larger discoveryrange.

In an embodiment, the eNB or base station can implement a procedure tomodify the discovery signal time/frequency width or format. The eNB canindicate the new discovery format in a SIB message. The eNB may alsoinclude a time indication of when to start the new discovery format,e.g., to avoid a timing ambiguity where two different signal formats areused. It is expected that all UEs use the new discovery format at thetime indicated by the time indication. The UE is configured to listen tothe SIB message, at least once per a given time interval. When the UEdecodes the SIB message, the UE gets the new format and the timeindication. At the time indicated by the time indication, the UEswitches to the new discovery format.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an exemplary processing system 500 that canbe used to implement various embodiments. Specific devices may utilizeall of the components shown, or only a subset of the components andlevels of integration may vary from device to device. Furthermore, adevice may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multipleprocessing units, processors, memories, transmitters, receivers, etc.The processing system 500 may comprise a processing unit 501 equippedwith one or more input/output devices, such as a network interfaces,storage interfaces, and the like. The processing unit 501 may include acentral processing unit (CPU) 510, a memory 520, a mass storage device530, and an I/O interface 560 connected to a bus. The bus may be one ormore of any type of several bus architectures including a memory bus ormemory controller, a peripheral bus or the like.

The CPU 510 may comprise any type of electronic data processor. Thememory 520 may comprise any type of system memory such as static randomaccess memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronousDRAM (SDRAM), read-only memory (ROM), a combination thereof, or thelike. In an embodiment, the memory 520 may include ROM for use atboot-up, and DRAM for program and data storage for use while executingprograms. In embodiments, the memory 520 is non-transitory. The massstorage device 530 may comprise any type of storage device configured tostore data, programs, and other information and to make the data,programs, and other information accessible via the bus. The mass storagedevice 530 may comprise, for example, one or more of a solid statedrive, hard disk drive, a magnetic disk drive, an optical disk drive, orthe like.

The processing unit 501 also includes one or more network interfaces550, which may comprise wired links, such as an Ethernet cable or thelike, and/or wireless links to access nodes or one or more networks 580.The network interface 550 allows the processing unit 501 to communicatewith remote units via the networks 580. For example, the networkinterface 550 may provide wireless communication via one or moretransmitters/transmit antennas and one or more receivers/receiveantennas. In an embodiment, the processing unit 501 is coupled to alocal-area network or a wide-area network for data processing andcommunications with remote devices, such as other processing units, theInternet, remote storage facilities, or the like.

While several embodiments have been provided in the present disclosure,it should be understood that the disclosed systems and methods might beembodied in many other specific forms without departing from the spiritor scope of the present disclosure. The present examples are to beconsidered as illustrative and not restrictive, and the intention is notto be limited to the details given herein. For example, the variouselements or components may be combined or integrated in another systemor certain features may be omitted, or not implemented.

In addition, techniques, systems, subsystems, and methods described andillustrated in the various embodiments as discrete or separate may becombined or integrated with other systems, modules, techniques, ormethods without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.Other items shown or discussed as coupled or directly coupled orcommunicating with each other may be indirectly coupled or communicatingthrough some interface, device, or intermediate component whetherelectrically, mechanically, or otherwise. Other examples of changes,substitutions, and alterations are ascertainable by one skilled in theart and could be made without departing from the spirit and scopedisclosed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for assigning resources for adevice-to-device (D2D) discovery signal, the method comprising:receiving, by a user equipment (UE), first parameters from a basestation indicating a set of discovery resources in a discovery cycle,wherein the discovery cycle comprises a plurality of subframes;receiving, by the UE, second parameters from the base station indicatinga first probability for transmitting a first discovery signal to asecond UE on a subframe of the plurality of subframes; generating, bythe UE, a random number for the subframe; and transmitting, by the UE,the first discovery signal to the second UE in the discovery cycle inaccordance to a comparison of the random number and the firstprobability.
 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the firstprobability is 0.25, 0.5 or
 1. 3. The method according to claim 1,wherein receiving the second parameters comprises receiving a secondprobability for transmitting a second discovery signal in a furtherdiscovery cycle, wherein the first probability is different from thesecond probability.
 4. The method according to claim 1, furthercomprising receiving, by the UE, a length of the discovery cycle.
 5. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein transmitting the first discoverysignal in the discovery cycle comprises transmitting the first discoverysignal at least once in the discovery cycle according to the comparison.6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising, when the UE isunable to send the first discovery signal according to the comparisonfor the subframe, receiving a further discovery signal sent by anotherUE during the subframe.
 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein thesubframe comprises a set of resource blocks, and wherein, when the UEtransmits the discovery signal on a selected resource block from the setof resource blocks, the UE is unable to receive a further discoverysignal from another UE on other resource blocks from the set of resourceblocks.
 8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the secondparameters are assigned to the UE via Radio Resource Control (RRC)signaling.
 9. A user device comprising: at least one processor; and anon-transitory computer readable storage medium storing programming forexecution by the at least one processor, the programming includinginstructions to: receive first parameters from a base station indicatinga set of discovery resources in a discovery cycle, wherein the discoverycycle comprises a plurality of subframes; receive second parameters fromthe base station indicating a first probability for transmitting a firstdiscovery signal to a second user device on a subframe of the pluralityof subframes; generating a random number for the subframe; andtransmitting the first discovery signal to the second user device in thediscovery cycle in accordance to a comparison of the random number andthe first probability.
 10. The user device according to claim 9, whereinthe first probability is 0.25, 0.5 or
 1. 11. The user device accordingto claim 9, wherein receiving the second parameters comprises receivinga second probability for transmitting a second discovery signal in afurther discovery cycle, wherein the first probability is different fromthe second probability.
 12. The user device according to claim 9,further comprising receiving from the base station a length of thediscovery cycle.
 13. The user device according to claim 9, whereintransmitting the first discovery signal in the discovery cycle comprisestransmitting the first discovery signal at least once in the discoverycycle according to the comparison.
 14. The user device according toclaim 9, further comprising, when the user device is unable to send thefirst discovery signal according to the comparison for the subframe,receiving a further discovery signal sent by another user device duringthe subframe.
 15. The user device according to claim 9, wherein thesubframe comprises a set of resource blocks, and wherein, when the userdevice transmits the first discovery signal on a selected resource blockfrom the set of resource blocks, the user device is unable to receive afurther discovery signal from another user device on other resourceblocks from the set of resource blocks.
 16. The user device according toclaim 9, wherein the second parameters are assigned to the user devicevia Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.